14 — Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
‘We’re all just really excited to exercise our right’: Athletes registering to vote
Vote.
A four letter word and a simple
action, yet one with a lot of power
behind it.
But in America, it is an action
that is often neglected. In 2016, only
55.7% of eligible people turned out
to vote, a number bested by 26 other
developed democratic countries. It
wasn’t just the 2016 election though
— voter turnout for Americans has
been around 50-60% for the last
few presidential elections and much
less for the off-year congressional
midterms.
This year, there seems to be a
change of tides as a dangerous virus
spreads effortlessly, an uprising
against racial injustice and political
tensions continue to divide the
country.
“A lot of people right now feel
helpless because there are a lot of
bad things in the news,” Michigan
volleyball
sophomore
middle
blocker Jess Robinson said. “Life
is pretty insane right now, but one
thing we can change in this world
is our government — the people
representing us — and the way to do
that is voting.”
This
renewed
energy
to
participate in the oldest institution
of
political
participation
has
become an exciting opportunity
to Robinson and her teammates.
As of this week, the entire team
— barring international players —
have registered and plan to vote in
the November election.
“When we found out it was 100%,
we were just so happy. We were so
proud,” Robinson said. “The people
who weren’t registered to vote were
freshmen. We helped them through
it. That was sort of a fun thing to do
with them on getting their absentee
ballots mailed to their new homes
in Ann Arbor. So that was a big
milestone for them and it was a big
victory for the team.”
Robinson is one of several
Michigan student-athletes leading
initiatives to help register the rest
of their teammates. Defensive
linemen Kwity Paye and Carlo
Kemp helped register the football
team by organizing tables where
players could sign up after practice.
Men’s basketball senior forward
Isaiah Livers helped get the rest
of the men’s basketball team
registered.
“We just wanted to do our part,”
Paye told The Daily last month.
“Make sure that we’re voting. Just
because the stuff that’s going on
right now, it’s just ridiculous.”
These
valiant
mobilization
efforts made by these student-
athletes reflect a larger movement
boiling beneath the surface — one
among the youth.
“We’re the people who are going
to inherit this world,” Robinson
said, “so we should make it the best
one we can, because right now it’s
not looking too good. We’re the ones
who have to stay (here) the longest,
so I think that young people should
try and get into (everything).”
With volleyball unlikely being
played in the fall, voter registration
has become a team-building activity
for the Wolverines. Robinson and
her teammates were excited to
register and get involved. They even
treated it as a way to help integrate
the freshmen into the team.
“We only get this chance once
every four years,” Robinson said.
“This is my first time voting
because I just turned 18 in the last
year, so it was a pretty big deal for
me and is for a lot of people on this
team. We’re all just really excited
to exercise our right because we
just feel like a lot of things have to
change and this is the best way to
do it.”
As the election date looms,
people everywhere are joining
mobilization efforts and getting
themselves prepared to vote. On
Michigan’s campus, athletes’ voices
ring loudly. They recognize the
special attention their platform
brings them, and they’re making
the most of this responsibility.
“We get out to thousands of
more people than what a normal
student would,” women’s basketball
sophomore forward Naz Hillmon
told The Daily at a student-athlete
led protest in August. “I really
think that we are taking advantage
of our platform, just trying to get
information out there and just
trying to put our thoughts out
there. … Just trying to put out
positive information and correct
information.”
Robinson
and
the
other
many
student-athletes
want
their initiative to be seen to help
motivate others. They understand
the power and influence their
actions and voice can have. For
voting, they are excited to reveal
their accomplishment and hope it
inspires others to do the same.
“(Voting is) just really important
to everyone,” Robinson said. “No
matter what your opinion (is), it’s
that your opinion is being heard and
that you (are) at least registered,
voting, … casting your ballot and
... being a part of the democratic
(process).”
O
n March 13, 2020,
three plain-clothed
Louisville
Metro
Police Department
Officers — Jonathan Mattingly,
Brett
Hankison
and
Myles
Cosgrove — forced entry into the
apartment
of
Breonna
Taylor,
a
26
year-
old
Black
woman,
executing
a
search
warrant.
The officers
shot
their
firearms
32
times
with
six of them
killing Taylor.
Taylor’s murder reached the
mainstage of the public eye when
protests erupted after the horrific
death of George Floyd. She became
a rallying cry for the suffering of
the Black community, specifically
Black women, in protests against
generational systemic oppression.
Around the country, the sports
community has become a leader
in the fight against racial injustice
to an extent it never has before.
When the NBA travelled down to
their Disney World bubble in early
July, many players diverted their
press conferences and used their
platform to discuss these issues,
echoing
names
like
Breonna
Taylor. So too did WNBA players
at their bubble in Bradenton, Fla.,
some 120 miles away.
In
Ann
Arbor,
several
University of Michigan athletes
have used their own platform
to speak up. In August, football
senior defensive back Hunter
Reynolds
joined
forces
with
Eastern
Michigan
linebacker
Tariq Speights to organize a Black
Lives Matter rally with hundreds
of attendees.
“Well I think we’re in a unique
position where we have a lot of
people looking at us for what we
do for athletics and what not,”
Audrey LeClair, a sophomore
on
the
softball
team
who
participated in the protest, said.
“And we represent this school
and therefore we have a platform
that we can use and it’s really
important. And just it’s important
to use it because we have a certain
voice that a lot of regular students
don’t have. … As you saw, we’re all
more than an athlete.”
The same chants passionately
screamed
at
many
protests
against social injustice could be
heard at this one — one of them
calling for the memory of Taylor:
“Say her name!”
“Breonna Taylor!
As more time passed, many
continued to place pressure on
Kentucky
Attorney
General
Daniel Cameron to arrest the
officers who killed Taylor.
On Sept. 23, a grand jury
indicted Hankinson on wanton
endangerment charges for the
10 shots fired inside Taylor’s
residence.
Cosgrove
and
Mattingly were not criminally
charged and the death of Taylor
was not placed on any of the
officers.
Another uproar of emotion
flooded the streets in Louisville,
Chicago, New York City, Los
Angeles, Washington, D.C. and
hundreds of other cities. The
same chants and signs proclaimed
anger toward the failure of the
justice system.
And, once again, athletes were
at the center of the movement.
Former Fab Five star Jalen
Rose used his position as a
commentator on ESPN’s NBA
Finals broadcast to display his
frustration with the decision
made.
“When Kyle Rittenhouse, in
Milwaukee as a 17-year-old, kills
two people, yet three cops aren’t
directly charged with killing
Breonna Taylor ... it shows you
how they feel about Black lives in
America,” Rose later said.
It became too overwhelming
for him to solely focus on
basketball
during
such
a
momentous and emotional time
in the United States. Other NBA
players shared in that struggle, as
the league stopped play for two
days as a result of the Milwaukee
Bucks boycott, later joined by all
the other playoff teams.
“So, we are starting a game
... It’s 400 years of slavery to 0,”
Rose said during the pregame
show. “We know we’re not
(going to) win, but you still gotta
continue to move the ball forward
and put people behind you in a
position to be successful, and
that’s what we’re here to do today.
… That’s what the NBA players
are doing today, and that’s why
I applaud them because while
they’re out, they’re performing
with heavy hearts trying to win a
championship. I understand that
this is really painful, to show up
to work and still try to entertain.”
Michigan defensive graduate
assistant and and former player
Mike McCray also displayed
his
outrage
by
tweeting
his
displeasure,
as
well
as
consistently sharing information
about Taylor’s murder.
Ambry Thomas, another former
Michigan player, also joined the
flurry of furious athletes.
To honor Taylor’s memory, we
must listen to Thomas, McCray,
Rose and so many more: The lack
of justice in the case of Breonna
Taylor once again proves the
troubling reality of the presence
of racism in America. There are
so many names — whether they
are publicly known or not — that
exemplify the horrors of police
brutality against Black people.
Wickedly, many of them result in
the same unfulfillment as Taylor.
It is important to remember
these people so that they are never
forgotten. The deaths of Breonna
Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George
Floyd and Jacob Blake must spark
change, as their examples have
provided an awakening for many
Americans.
Athletes
have
played
an
integral role in the awareness of
these victims, as they have that
ability to reach a large portion of
people. Their voice carries weight
and will continue, especially as a
momentous and critical election
nears. Whether their viewpoints
and opinions are in agreement
with the people listening, the
subject matter is non-negotiable.
The case of Breonna Taylor
demonstrates that racism is real —
and it is not a political topic that
can be argued over.
As Rose said, the game is “400
years of slavery to 0” and there is
a lot more work to do to achieve
true equality.
Trachtenberg can be reached at
btrach@umich.edu and on Twitter
@brandon_trach.
Athletes remember Breonna Taylor
BRANDON TRACHTENBERG
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophmore middle blocker Jess Robinson is one of several athletes who led initiatives to help their teammates get registered to vote ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
BRANDON
TRACHTENBERG
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Athletes from Michigan and Eastern Michgian organized a Black Lives Matter protest in Ann Arbor this August to remember victims of police brutality, such as Breonna Taylor, and advocate for reform.